


Love Notes: Of the Chemistry Kind

by La_baguette



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F, NaNoWriMo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-08
Updated: 2018-11-08
Packaged: 2019-08-20 12:41:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16555964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/La_baguette/pseuds/La_baguette
Summary: This is my NaNoWriMo 2018 entry, so be prepared for a pretty rough draft. I will update as I add on, so chapters are subject to change. Thanks!





	1. Chapter 1

It started out simply.

“Hey, do you have any notes from today’s lecture?”

My head snaps up from the mess of folders on my desk.

The infamous Amada stares back. She’s known for two things in this school: her huge attitude and her sexuality. As one of the few kids brave enough to be “out” at Trinity Catholic High School, it's not hard to believe Amada causes just a little controversy.

“So, those lecture notes?”

“I mean, yeah I have some.”

“Can I borrow them?”

“Sure, I'll make a copy in study hall.”

“Great, thanks.”

Amada twisted on her heel and sped out of the chemistry classroom.

_What just happened?_

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“And then she just turned around and left! And she’s never even talked to me! What the hell?” I slam my hands on the lunch table, proceeding to shake everyone’s drinks. They all look up at me with varying degrees of confusion.

Sadie cut in “And this is Amada were talking about? I doubt she’s even looked at us.”

“Who knows guys, maybe she was a crush on our little closet case Cassandra over here.” With that comment, Bram wiggled his eyebrows at me.

I threw a tater tot at him.

“Not funny,” I exclaim, “especially coming from the guy who’s also not out.”

Bram pouted. “Just because I’m not telling the world about my love of guys yet does not mean that you can't find the person of your dreams.”

“Just give her the notes and see what happens next.” Ashlynn takes a sip of her soda before continuing. “Worst case scenario is that you humiliate yourself for life and are forced to go to a British boarding school for the rest of high school.”

“Not funny!” I line up the trajectory of my next tater tot missile.

“Hey! Not in my pudding! They finally have chocolate today and I’m not wasting it on your sad love life.” She then shielded her pudding behind her, safe from lunch projectiles.

Cam interjected, “Don’t worry, I’m sure it will all work out.”

Everyone booed at the sappiness, but Cam just stuck out her tongue and took a bite of the sub-par cafeteria pizza.

“Ugh, what is this? Cardboard?”

“Worse,” I said, “School lunch food.”

I snickered, and soon everyone at the table was laughing till tears streamed down their faces.

Suddenly, the bell jolted us from the chaos of lunch. Standing up from the table, I grabbed my backpack and adjusted my polo shirt. Part of the joy of Catholic education is the strict dress code Trinity employs. Nothing’s more fun than wearing the same 5 colors all the time right?

Wrong.

As Sadie and I walked to our Spanish class, students flooded the hallway as usual. After three years the disarray of the halls became normal.

Sadie mentioned, “Why do they make juniors still take a foreign language class? All we do is wait until Mrs. Watson falls asleep so we can go on our phones. I’m not even sure I’ve learned anything new this year, just how to act preoccupied for 50 minutes.”

“Yeah, but at least we don’t have Mr. Denero. I heard he once failed everyone in a class except 3 kids for plagiarizing.”

“Good point.”

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Five minutes into Spanish, and Mrs. Watson is already out like a light.

Sadie leaned over to me from her sea across the row. “Huh, that’s gotta be a new record. Normally she lasts at least to the 15-minute mark.”

I respond, “True, but she looked extra wrinkly today. Maybe all that wine she keeps in her water bottles caught up to her.”

After seeing that the only adult supervision for the hour was passed out at her desk, the kids ran with it. Amada and her friends had kicked their feet up on the rickety old desks, while other students grabbed their phones from the parking garage Mrs. Watson made us put them. Sadie and I did what normally happens, create stories and doodle on some sheets of paper. As the artist of the group, Sadie’s sketches always outclass mine. We still manage to make it fun, using the inclusion of cheats to lower her abilities.

As the class period drags along, the one and only Amada appears next to my desk. She blows a bubble out of some bright blue gum.

“When should I grab the chemistry notes from you?”

“I gotta get them printed, but I can meet you in the library?”

“Sure that sounds good.”

After blowing another bubble, she walks away to return to the cool kids of the class. Sadie stares as Amada walks away, before turning to face me again.

“Is that how she acted during chemistry as well?” She asked.

I nodded.

“Bram was definitely right. I've never seen her acknowledge you, much less agree to be seen together at school. Somethings up.”

I smack her with the nearest thing I can grab, which happens to be the latest book I was reading.

“Hey! What was that for!”

“For not shutting the hell up and agreeing with Bram. I thought we were friends.”

Sadie rolled her eyes and handed me the paper so I could draw the next little doodle.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

As students rushed to their next class, I met up with Ashlynn so we could walk to Trigonometry. Luckily for me, I share all of my classes with one of my friends. It makes choosing seats much easier. Trigonometry is one of my hardest classes, right next to English 3 Honors. Ashlynn is also one of the smarter kids in our grade, but we aren’t in the same English class. Unfortunately, a missed opportunity for free homework help. As soon as we sit down, Ashlynn taps me on the shoulder so I will turn around. It works.

“Did anything happen during Spanish with Amada?”

“Not really, she just confirmed where we're meeting up during study hall.”

“That doesn’t sound like ‘not much’.”

The Trig. teacher, Mr. Johnson, decided right then and there to assign us 10 pages of work due on Monday. That gave us 5 days to do it all.

I turn to Ashlynn, who looks like she wants to slam her head into the desk.

“Do you want to come over this weekend and work on Trig? We could make it a party after we finish.” I questioned, snapping Ashlynn out of her existential crisis.

“Sure, but we have to actually get the work done. We can’t have a repeat of _last time_.”

Nobody speaks about last time anymore.

By some feat of nature, Trig. passed rather quickly. Besides the occasional sob and way too much cursing for a Catholic school, everyone was quiet and just tried to get their work done. Ashlynn and I passed answers back and forth, that way we got more done with less work.

Soon enough, the bell rang and students bolted out of the class, eager to escape the impending doom of more homework. I gathered my stuff, aimlessly shoving papers into my backpack. Ashlynn and I walked out together until we had to go to separate classes.

Trinity Catholic High School operates on a rotating study hall, so today the study hall is during World History. Cam and I share that class, so I luckily wouldn’t be bothered about Amada. This time.

I meet Cam in the 4th wing, on the way to World History. She gratefully doesn’t mention the weird occurrences with the most controversial person in our grade, instead choosing to talk about other stuff.

We have to read for the first 5 minutes of study hall, then the rest of the hour is our to do with whatever we want. The History teacher, Ms. Holtgrave, is pretty chill and will let you do whatever. All I would have to do is get a hall pass from her and off I’d go.

After the 5 minutes was up, I went to ask Ms. Holtgrave for a pass. She agreed, and with chemistry notes in hand, I left for the library.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

When I got to the library, Amada was nowhere in sight. As much as I wanted to turn around and go back to World History, I reluctantly hopped onto a computer to transfer the notes.

After about 5 minutes, I had all the notes transferred and no sign of Amada. I printed off the notes and proceeded to wander around the library for a little, scanning the titles as I walked by. There were a few interesting books, but nothing really caught my eye.

By this point, the end of the study hall was drawing closer and still no sign of Amada. _Is this some kind of joke? Why would she lead me on for stuff she apparently needed?_

Just as I was about to leave, Amada rushed in the door, looking frantic. She spotted me, and her eyes lit up.

“Thank God you haven’t left! I really need those notes.”

I stare at her.

“If you need the notes, why did you get here so late?”

She blushed and stared at her feet.

“I had to talk to Mr. Thomas. I...uh...I need to get a tutor in Chemistry.” She continued staring at her feet, occasionally rocking back and forth on them.

“Do you have a tutor? I could...I could tutor you if you need it.”

Amada looked up at me with hope in her eyes.

“Really?”

“I mean you’ll have to talk to Mr. Thomas, but I will.”

“Well, thanks.”

We both stared at each other for a little, unsure of what to do. Amada flaunted her grades as part of her since freshman year. The revelation is a little off-putting. _What else do I not know about her?_

Suddenly, Amada grabbed her backpack and started to leave the library.

“Well, I gotta go. I’ll talk to Mr. Thomas and let you know about tutoring. Thanks for the notes!” With that, she dashed back to her class, barely remembering to grab the chemistry notes.

As she exited the library, I watched as she left.


	2. Chapter 2

The rest of the day passed relatively quickly, with minimal interruptions. Amanda’s question lingered in my mind, purely out of confusion.  _ She’s talked to me once before, and how she wants to meet up with me every week?  _ Something seemed off.

After the 8th period, I went to find Cam so we could go home. Cam and I have lived next to each other for years, so we carpool together to save on gas money. It’s a nice system, except that she takes approximately 20 years to get all of her stuff together.

“Hurry up, I wanna go home and take a nap!”

“Shut up! Last time I had to wait forever for  _ you _ to finish your homework!”

“Well  _ sorry _ that I wasn’t going to bring that massive Trig. binder home for 3 problems!”

With that comment, Cam threw her locker shut and we headed out. 

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

After the ride back to our subdivision, I let Cam out of the car.

“Remeber, you’re paying for gas tomorrow!” I yelled as she exited the car.

Cam waved as she closed the door to her house, and I drove to mine.

I slammed the car door shut as I lugged the boulder that is my backpack inside. Unfortunately, junior year is one of the most stressful years, even if it’s only September.

“Hey mom, I’m home,” I called into the house. She worked at the church daycare center, but sometimes she got off early enough that I would see her after school.

No reply.

Sitting down at the kitchen bar, I unloaded all my homework. Today was an average day homework-wise, with only a few papers and an essay due in a week.

5 minutes into the work, and I was already tired of it. Picking up my phone, I started to scroll through Instagram. The names of people I didn’t care about flew past, a remnant of when I let Ashlynn near my phone. One picture stuck out, so I paused my scrolling.

Amada’s profile page popped up, complete with her last bad idea or protest. This time it was her kissing a guy with her middle finger raised and the caption,  _ Let bi girls be bi.  _ This was the photo that started her reign of debatable popularity at Trinity. After someone leaked this photo to the teachers and staff, shit went down. Some of the younger teachers didn’t care at all, while others threw a fit. The photo lead to at least 2 theology teachers giving every class a speech about “the dangers of homosexuality.” As if that stopped anybody.

Suddenly, the back door of the house creaked open.

“Hey Cassandra, can you come to help me with the groceries?” My dad showed up at the entrance to the kitchen. “I bought some more Cinnamon Toast Crunch.”

I hopped off the barstool to help my dad. Soon, the kitchen counters were filled to the brim with assorted foods. My family liked to eat pretty healthily, so a lot of the stuff on the counter was fruits and vegetables.

“What's for dinner tonight? I’ve got a shift at the library tomorrow, so that needs to be put on the calendar.”

“I don’t know kiddo, maybe stir-fry? Mom should be home soon, ask her.”

We continued to put food away, making small chat as we went. After every last vegetable was in its proper place, my dad left to go to his office. “Office” is a very loose term of what his workroom looked like, with all the paint and canvases everywhere.

Another voice spoke up as they opened the door. “Hey, I’m home!”My mom entered. “How’s it going, sweetie?”

“Pretty good, I need you to proofread this part of my essay.”

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Cam was running late. I honked the car horn again. After another 5 excruciating minutes, she finally came running out. As she slammed the car door shut, I gave her a once over. Her normally perfect makeup was a little smudged, and her uniform was crumpled.

“Which bus ran you over this morning?”

Cam shoved me. “For your information, I forgot to plug in my phone and overslept.”

“What is this, the 7th time?”

“Oh come on! At least I wasn’t the one to almost crash the car out of sleep deprivation!”

“That was not my fault!”

“How?” Cam asked incredulously. “Did Jesus Christ himself come down on this car and make us swerve?

Grumbling, we pulled out of Cam’s driveway and onto the road.

As we jammed to some music on the way, Cam asked me a question.

“Did anything ever happen during study hall? You didn’t come back for the rest of the class.”

“Not really.”

“Oh.”

I wasn’t sure if I should tell her. Amada seemed almost embarrassed that she needed a tutor, and I wasn’t planning on telling everyone, even if she’s never been nice to me before.

The rest of the car ride was uneventful, and we quickly pulled into the school parking lot.

After getting into the building, Cam and I went our separate ways. We don’t share any classes in the morning and are on opposite sides of the school. 

Walking to my locker, I catch up with Sadie and Ashlynn at their lockers. They were lucky enough to get lockers next to each other, a rare thing for students at Trinity. The administration generally seems to enjoy the suffering of its students, locker neighbors included. All the unlucky ones are forced to deal with jerks or some of the other assholes that can afford to go here.

“Hey, y'all, what's up?”

Ashlynn turned to look at me and stated, “Are you ever gonna stop sounding like a southern belle right out of lil ole’ Georgia?”

“Not until I die.”

Sadie interjected, “I can arrange it if need be. I know a guy.”

Ashlynn and I responded in perfect unison, “Please,” before we all started cracking up.

“Anyway,” Ashlynn continued, “Does anybody know what's for lunch today? If its another ‘mystery meat’ I swear I will burn this school to the ground.”

I responded, “Actually I think it’s like chicken quesadillas or something. All I know is that it might be healthy for once.”

“Unlikely.”

“Very true.” With an ear-splitting grin, Bram joined the grouping as we walked through the hallways. “Have y’all heard what Mrs. Green did to Cassandra’s new love interest? She gave her detention for a week for ‘inappropriate jewelry’. She has one cartilage piercing! I think it’s just that Mrs. Green doesn’t like Amada.”

I smacked Bram, responding, “I don’t have a crush on Amada! She doesn’t have a crush on me! Let it go!”

“Keep telling yourself that sweetie.”

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

While the 1st period was boring, 2nd was anything but. Amada and I share a theology class with Mrs. Green, and based on the day’s events, it was going to be one hell of a class. By the time I had walked into the theology room, Amada was already glaring daggers at Mrs. Green. I sat my stuff down, and as soon as the bell rang Mrs. Green stood up.

“Today class we are going to be talking about the Old Testament. In the Old Testament…” Mrs. Green stopped talking. Everyone swiveled their head to look at Amada, who was packing up her stuff.

“And what do you think you’re doing?”

Amada replied, “I’m getting out of here. Besides, I already know the lesson today. And every day.”

“And what do you think that lesson is Ms. Clarke?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe that being LGBT+ is evil, or that ‘God’ condemns homosexuality, or that I’m going to hell for being bi.” Amada had slammed her backpack down again, fuming with anger. Mrs. Green didn’t look much better, with her face almost purple. Several kids now had their phones out presumably recording the scene for social media. 

Amada continued, “Besides, I’ve already heard the  _ bullshit _ you spew out of your mouth for years! You tell kids this every year, brainwashing them into thinking that a whole group of people are invalid. That they might be invalid! That God doesn’t love them! And that's. Fucked. Up.”

Mrs. Green screeched, “Principal’s office! Right now!”

Amada smirked, “Gladly.”

With a twist of her foot, she strolled out the door. Mrs. Green furiously followed her out of the classroom, leaving the rest of her students to sit in silence.

Ashlynn who was also in this class turned to look at me. “What the hell was that.”

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

By the time 3rd period had started, it has spread around the school that Mrs. Green gave Amada an all Saturday detention, à la _The_ _Breakfast Club_ style, plus a month of after-school detention. Some said it was well deserved, others were ready to boycott class over it. Personally, I didn’t really care how much detention she got. This kind of stuff happens to Amada every week, and she always bounces back. 

The third-period class was Jazz Band, the only class all of my friends and I shared. Bram played trumpet, Ashlynn tenor saxophone, Cam the drum kit, and I played the piano. The Jazz Band is one of the best music groups Trinity has, right next to Wind Ensemble. Our director was Mr. Rutherford, but we all called him by his first name Blake. 

“Ok guys, let’s get started with our first song,” Blake called out, “The concerts in 6 weeks! Let's go!”

Jazz Band sped by quickly; everyone did their job and it was generally uneventful. When third period ended, everyone began to pack their stuff up. Trinity has a rotating lunch, so sophomores and juniors went to their 4/5 class. 

My period 4 class was Chemistry where my infamous encounter with Amada happened. Unsurprisingly, she wasn’t there for class, probably still in the principal's office for her actions in Theology. We weren’t working on anything super important, just another lecture on a chapter in our book. I took notes, as usual, making sure I got enough in case Amada asked me for more Chem. notes.

Bram is also in my Chem. class, although he wasn’t yesterday. We sit on opposite sides of the class, the only one where I don't sit next to my friends. It’s a little strange not having anyone to talk to during class, but you get used to it after a little. 

About halfway through the class, the door swung open. Amada walked in and took her seat looking bored as ever. 

Mr. Thomas paused the lecture to say, “Welcome back Ms. Clarke, we’re on page 58.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Ms. Scott, could you see me after class?” Mr. Thoma said as the bell rang. “Everyone else is free to go.”

The majority of the class left without a second thought, but Bram made sure to wiggle his eyebrows at me before leaving. I rolled my eyes at him before walking up to Mr. Thomas’ desk.

“You wanted to talk to me, sir?”

“Yes, I wanted to talk to you about tutoring Amada. I know she said that you were ok with it, but I just wanted to check with you.”

“It’s no problem I’d be happy to help.”

“Great, thanks. You and Amada would meet up at least once a week, maybe twice depending on how Amada’s grade progresses as the semester continues. I’ll email you stuff I want the two of you to go over, and any extra work I need Amada to do. This will also count towards some of your mandatory service hours for Theology. I will sign for those if you need me to. Any other questions?”

“No, I don't think so.”

“Ok then, that will be all. Thank you, Cassandra.”

“It’s no problem.”


	3. Chapter 3

At lunch, everyone questioned me about my meeting with Mr. Thomas after class. Thanks to Bram, they all knew who wanted to talk to me after class. 

“Sooooooooo,” Bram asked, “Did Mr. Thomas’ questioning have anything to do with Amada?” 

“It might’ve.”

Bram slammed his fists on the table. “THEN TELL US WOMAN!”

`”It’s not my story to tell.”

Sadie cut in, “I swear to Satan himself Cassandra if you don’t tell us right now I will spill every embarrassing secret I know.”

Cam smacked Sadie. She responded, “What? Bram’s got me invested in this whole thing.”

Cam replied, “Don’t worry Cassandra, they'll shut up soon enough.” She then proceeded to glare at Bram and Sadie. “How about you guys find something better to do?”

Bram retorted “And miss the love story of the century? I think the fuck not.”

Ashlyn mentioned, “Just stalk Amada online or something. If anything happens, she’ll be the first one to post it for some more followers.”

Finger gunning Ashlynn, Bram grinned. “Smart thinking! When the two finally get together, we’ll know within 2 hours.”

I groaned, laying my head face down on the table.  _ How much longer could I go on like this? _

Cam spoke up, “How about we talk about something a little less boring?”

 

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On the way to Spanish class, Amada stopped me in the hallway.

“Would today’s study hall work for you?”

“Sure.”

“Ok. Meet me in the library.”

Amada left to find her posse, while Sadie walked up to me from her locker.

“Hey, you ready for Spanish?”

“Yeah.”

As we walked into Spanish, something was different. Instead of the usual passed out elderly woman, a substitute sat at Mrs. Watson’s desk.

“Welcome class, my name is Mr. Bodene and I’ll be your sub for the next few months. Mrs. Watson has unfortunately broken her hip and will be in the hospital for a while. Until then, I'll be your teacher and expect you to treat me as such.”

Sadie and I made eye contact. The one when you both think  _ this fucking sucks.  _ The only joy in Spanish was the fact that we never did anything our teacher was always asleep. With a competent sub, that was all out of the window. We might have to something, god forbid  _ actual homework _ . 

“Now today we’ll be talking about the conjugations of verbs…”

 

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“Spanish is going to be hell for the next few months. Once he finds out that we haven’t been doing anything for the entire year, he’ll blow a gasket and then insert himself as the permanent teacher.” Sadie talked as we wandered to our next classes. “How hard do you think it'll be to murder him?”

“Easy,” I reply. “There’s no way in hell he has any positive relationships with people, so just fake a suicide and boom done.”

 

Sadie replied, “That’s a good idea. I’ll recommend it to the committee.”

Ashlynn walked us to us, asking, “What’s up to the committee?”

“The murder of the new Spanish sub.”

“Oh, yea definitely. I actually had to do work today in that class.”

I added, “We’re thinking a fake suicide. It’ll be perfect.”

“Ooooo that is good.”

“Bye guys!” Sadie walked down the third wing as Ashlynn and 1 continued to Trig.

We were still working on the gigantic packet due Monday during Trig, so the class was pretty boring. Ashlyn and I traded answers as usual and everyone else either went on their phones or acted like they were working and not napping. 

Cam caught up to me as soon as I walked out of Trig, feeling as exhausted as I probably looked.

“Well don’t you look like a ray of sunshine.” She said, the smirk on her face evident.

“Shut up and walk.”

 

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After a generally dull World History class, study hall was up next. Today’s study hall was in Art, which was a little sad. Art was one of my favorite classes, right next to English. In this class, we did pretty much whatever we wanted as long as it was art related. Mrs. Brandmeyer doesn’t want to “restrain our creativity” so her lesson plans are very sparse.

Bram sat next to me in this class, a contrast to Chemistry. Along with Bram came the surplus of questions and suggestive comments about Amada.

“What color have you two picked out for the wedding?”

“Dude shut up, this is silent reading.”

“Hey, I just need to know what I’m working with here.”

“Nothing still equals nothing.”

Bram poured and turned back to the book he was ‘reading’. Not many people actually read during Art study hall since Mrs. Brandmeyer doesn’t enforce it. Bram is one of those people.

Mrs. Brandmeyer announced, “Ok everyone, silent reading is over. If you have a pass to leave, bring it up to me and I'll sign it.”

Digging through my backpack, I found the pass Mr. Thomas had given me. I brought it up to the desk, handing it to Mrs. Brandmeyer.

“Are you a tutor now? Very admirable.”

“Oh, thanks.”

She signed the pass, handing it back to me. “Here you go. Enjoy the library!”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

When I reached the library, Amada was already sitting and waiting for me in a remote area by the tables. I had a sneaking suspicion she was trying to not be seen with a tutor, mainly me.

I sat down at the table, pulling up a chair. Amada looked up from her phone.

“Are you ready to get started?”

“Whatever.”

“Hey, you’re the one who asked me for help.”

“Yea, but I didn’t expect us to have to meet in public. I figured we could keep this on the down-low if you know what I mean.”

“Sure, let’s just get to work.”

“What are we working on first?”

“Well, we can go over today’s lecture. Mr. Thomas also gave me a list of stuff he wants up to cover or worksheets you need to redo. Whatever works for you, we just have to get everything done by the end of the semester.”

“Can we start with today’s class? A new season of  _ The Good Place _ just got released and I had to watch it.”

“Ok first lesson. To pass Chemistry, you actually have to try. No amount of bullshit and help from me will make up for sleeping through class.”

“Sure, today’s notes?”

I sighed. At this rate, it was going to be a long semester.

Picking up some of my notes, we continued. “Today’s lecture was on the history of the atom, mainly about the discovery of subatomic particles and the nucleus. Do you remember anything about those?”

“A little, electrons were discovered first. Maybe by some guy named Thomson?”

“That’s pretty good. Electrons were discovered by J.J. Thomson with his Cathode Ray Experiment. The other thing we covered was the discovery of the nucleus. The nucleus was discovered by Ernest Rutherford and his Gold Foil Experiment.”

“That makes some kind of sense.”

“As long as you know the names of the people and the experiment you should be good. That’s all we’re required to know.”

“I think I can manage that.”

I looked up at the clock. We only had about 10 minutes left, not enough time to get fully start on a project.

I asked, “Is there anything else you’re confused about from today’s lesson?”

“Not really,” she replied, “just a little confused about something.

“What are you confused about? We can go over how the experiments work if you need to, or about the people’s theor-“

Amada cut me off. “Not about chemistry, Cassandra. About you.”

“Um, what?”

She set her elbows down on the table and rested her head on her hands. 

“Why are you helping me? I’ve never done anything for you, yet you decided to waste your study halls on trying to teach me.”

That’s… a legitimate question I don’t know the answer to. To be honest, I have no real reason why I chose to help Amada. She was right, she’s never done anything exemplary for me,  just another student that doesn’t talk to me. 

“I just thought it would be the nice thing to do.”

“Uh-huh, sure.” At that moment, the bell thankfully decided to ring. “Well,” Amada continued, “See you tomorrow.” She strolled out of the room, slinging her backpack over her shoulder.

_ Tomorrow? _

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Even after Cam and I had driven home in almost complete silence, I still couldn’t get over what Amada said. ‘See you tomorrow.’ What does that even mean? Does she mean in the hallways, in class, or during study hall? Is she going to act like she knows me for once? 

The thought seemed unlikely. Amada was very well known around Trinity Catholic High School, unlike me. My friends and I weren’t antisocial by any means, we just weren’t the talk of the school. While Amada and her posse strolled through the hallways full of onlookers, my friend group passed quietly and without much notice. It was nice not having to deal with rumors or gossip, but everyone wonders what it’s like to be in the ‘It’ crowd.

After I had dropped Cam off at her house, The rest of the day passed by with few disturbances until dinner. Tonight I had to work a shift at the library, my only source of income right now. As a 16-year-old with a car, my parents decided it was time for me to join the workforce. Luckily for me, I wasn’t stuck with the typical job in the restaurant or retail industries. The library was a great choice for me, with my introverted personality and love of books. All I had to do was check out patrons and reorganize shelves.

My mom brought home Chinese takeout after getting off from work. Quickly finishing my food, I gathered some homework to bring to my shift. The library wasn’t very busy on Thursday nights, so I normally brought homework to work on during my shift. It was great when I had research papers to work, with the expanse of knowledge around me as I worked.

When I arrived in the employee parking lot, the normal workers were there. Most of the staff were sweet elderly people, but any teens they employed also worked on weeknights. Today Daisy and Jacobs’ cars were in the parking lot, a normalcy for Thursdays. I normally worked with them so it wouldn't be a big deal. 

Daisy and Jacob both went to the public school across town, Ulysses S. Grant Public High School. Daisy was the sweetest person to dress in all black I’ve ever met. Daisy somehow simultaneously could run an aesthetic blog on  _ Tumblr  _ while looking ready to start a satanic ritual. She gives off this kinda preppy goth vibe that is different but super cool. One of the pluses of being able to dress how you like at a public school. Jacob was also a breakaway from standard high school cliques, just in a different way. As the quarterback for Ulysses S. Grant football team, he constantly had on the classic letterman jacket every jock magically gets. Unlike the rest of his teammates though, Jacob is also hella smart and insanely sarcastic. With the tree of us working a library shift, it can never be too boring,

“Hey losers!” I joke, placing my laptop and papers down at my stand. Everyone working got their own checkout stand, so there was plenty of room for my homework.

“Speak for yourself,” Jacob retorted. “I just aced my last Biology test.” 

Daisy poked her head up from under her counter and exclaimed, “How! I got a C on that test! You need to start sharing the Quizlets you use!”

“It’s called studying,” Jacob stuck his tongue out at her, ‘you should try it sometime.”

“Jacob Walter Laurens, if you don't help me I swear to every god imaginable I will tear you limb from limb.”

Ok, maybe Daisy could get a little intense but she’s still one of the nicest people I know. 

“How about everyone just chills out a little?” I say, resulting in a mix of thrown books and gummy worms, Daisy’s favorite. “Stop throwing stuff! Y’all are worse than the little kids here.”

Jacob retorts, “Say’s the one who does more homework than actual work.”

Snickering, we all sat down to get the shift started. Even though we fought a ton, I wouldn’t trade Daisy and Jacob for the world. There's something calming about being to talk to people that don’t go to the same school. You can talk about students without consequences since they don’t know anybody personally. 

I pulled up my English essay on the ancient library computers. I only had about 2 paragraphs typed right now, which wasn’t close to the minimal amount required. Besides the fact it was due in 5 days including today, it takes me ages to write anything. I should’ve started this essay days ago, but procrastination flows through my veins.

Ten minutes into my shift, and a loud crash rings throughout the library. We look at each other simultaneously and say, “Bookshelf crash.” With the usual eye rolls, we all got ready for rock-paper-scissors. It was customary that the three of us play rock-paper-scissors to find out who had to go clean up the mess. 

“Ready everyone?” I said, holding my hands up. Daisy and Jacob nod very seriously. “Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot!”

We all throw out our answers. Looking down at all of our symbols, Daisy and Jacob won with scissors while I unluckily chose paper. Groaning, I dragged myself out of my desk over to the area where the crash came from. Jacob and Daisy high-fived victoriously as I walked away from the checkout desks. 

After wandering the shelves in search of the ever elusive crash, I finally located it in the science section, where many a student can be found cramming for a test. Books were scattered all over the floor, mainly textbooks. Right in the center of it was none other than Amada. She looked up at me.

“Cassandra? What are you doing here?”

“I work here.”

“Oh.”

The silence was palpable, neither of us knows how to continue.  _ Amada goes to the library?  _  It seemed like an unlikely thought. Yet here we stood, staring at each other among the collection of books on the floor. 

“So I guess you need help picking all of these up?”

Amada blinked rapidly a few times, then responded, “I guess I do.”

The rest of the encounter went on in silence. Amada and I slowly but surely got each book back in its right place. As soon as the task was completed, Amada bolted like I had the plague. I stood there for a few seconds, before making my way back to the desks.

 

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“Do you know how practically ran out of here about 5 minutes ago?” Daisy looked up from her homework, some sort of biology worksheet. “She looked super frazzled.”

“That’s Amada,” I answer. “She also goes to Trinity.”

“Wait.” Jacob looked up from his Sudoku, only the nerdiest of puzzles. “Isn’t she the one that’s super popular at Trinity?”

“I would use the word controversial, but yeah, that's her.”

Daisy cut back in, “Is she the one who knocked all the books off the shelf?”

“Yeah, I found her in the middle of them all, just standing there.”

“Weird, I didn’t imagine her as someone who would read.”

_ Yeah, I didn’t either. _


	4. Chapter 4

After my shift at the library ended, I listen to AJR on the way home. They’re one of my favorite bands, something about their music is so unique to me. 

By the time I had arrived back at my house, it was almost 9 pm. As much as I love hanging out with Daisy and Jacob, working at the library could be boring at best and tedious at worst. Even though I don't work that many shifts, it sometimes makes me wonder what another job would be like.

Walking into the house, my parents were the usual amount of quiet. They normally sat around the house like this, my dad reading a book and my mom baking or sewing. I silently entered my room, successfully avoiding my parent's usual questions about how my day was and such. 

I flopped onto my bed, slinging my backpack and it’s contents on the floor. I planned to work on some more writing for of the English paper soon, but my brain had other ideas.

All of my thoughts traveled to my strange meeting with Amada in the library today.  _ What was she even doing in the library? _ While Amada is smart, she isn’t exactly known for her studious qualities or studying abilities. Her smart is more of the ‘I didn’t study at all but still got an A’ type. She likes to fly off the chains, like in theology today. That kind of stuff happens more often than it probably should, but Amada isn’t known for her ability to let something go either. If she sees something she deems as wrong, she will gladly take a stand even if she gets in trouble for it. As frustrating as that can be for people, It’s part of what makes Amada unique. 

Looking up at the clock, half an hour has passed with no progress on my English essay. I sighed and closed my laptop. There’s no use in wasting time on something that I won't get done. I cleaned off my bed and got under the covers, attempting to get some semblance of sleep.

 

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When I woke up in the morning, I felt just as trashy as I did last night. Even though I got more than the 5 hours that's normal for me, I still felt like death had possessed me during the night. As I rolled over, the realization hit me. My phone was laying on my bed, with no charger attached.

Fuck.

I grab my phone to see if it’s salvageable. After it turns on, I read the battery percentage. 9%. What a  _ perfect _ start to the morning. Eventually, I forced myself to leave the warm blankets of my mattress for the cruel outside world. 

Picking a random polo shirt out of my closet, I pulled it over my head. It didn’t really matter what color I wore today, as long as it followed standard school dress code rules. The same goes for pants, as long as it’s in the standard dress code it’s good to go.

Breakfast was already cooking by the time I had left my room. On Fridays my mom worker later at the daycare, so we ate family breakfasts on those days. Up on the menu today was french toast. My mom’s french toast is so good, it’s practically universally agreed upon. Dad was already sitting at the breakfast table, coffee cup in hand. 

“Have anything important going on in school today?” My dad asked, looking up from his newspaper. 

“Not really.”

With pitch-perfect timing, my mom brought out the plates of french toast for us all.

Breakfast passed peacefully, with pleasant conversation in between bites of french toast. I looked up at the clock, with the time reading 7:33.

“Ok, I gotta head out. See ya later!” 

Grabbing my backpack from my room, I hopped in my car and drove to Cam’s house.

 

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For once in our tiny lives, Cameron Carter was on time.  

“What clone number are you? The real Cam’s never on time.”

Cam laughed and lightly smacked me. “I guess the planets aligned in my favor today. Also, I’m clone #63.”

“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”

We pulled out of our subdivision as the school bus drove into it. 

“Do you remember when we had to ride that hell hole?”

Cam shuddered. “I wish I didn’t. That was actual torture.”

People don’t ride the bus unless they absolutely have to. And unless you have an older brother or sister, most freshmen are confined to the bus as their transportation to and from school. I don’t recommend the bus under any standards. Your only hope for survival is headphones. And extremely loud music.

Now that I have my drivers license, the commute to school became a million times easier. No more squished seats, no more annoying radio stations, no more fighting, and creepy bus drivers. The only annoyance I have to deal with now is Cam’s constant lateness.

Cam and I sat in relative silence as the radio played in the background. It took all my energy to focus on the road, let alone hold a conversation as well. Luckily Cam seemed to understand that, so she sat quietly on her phone as we drove.

When we arrived in the school parking lot, Sadie was also getting out of her car. 

“Hey, guys!”

Cam replied, “Hey Sadie! Did you do your Biology worksheet? I had no clue how to do half of them.”

With a sigh, Sadie responded, “Yeah, I can give you the answers. Remind me once we make it inside.”

Still feeling mentally drained, I followed along, nursing the coffee I brought with me from home.

 

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First period was study hall today, so I didn’t have English class. I was excited that we didn’t have class today, because it gave me some more time to work on my essay. While Mrs. Markus was strict on making we sure we complete silent reading, the rest of her study halls were pretty laid back. As long as we kept ourselves occupied she was cool with whatever. That meant she would probably read over what I have of my essay once I get more done.

First bell rang, and everyone got out their silent reading books. Right now I was reading  _ Lily & Dunkin _ , and it was pretty good so far. As somebody who reads quickly, I always had books in my locker ready for the next study hall. 

Ten minutes pass and Mrs. Markus lets everyone know silent reading is over. I grab my laptop out of my backpack and get to work. Our essay had to have 5-7 paragraphs, and I was on 2. It’s not like the essay was hard, I just procrastinate too much. 

To make it even easier, we were allowed to choose any myth from Ancient Greece to write about, on par to our course so far. I chose to write about the story of Orpheus and Eurydice from Ancient Greek Mythology.  This story was one of my favorites, right next to Achilles and Patroclus. 

Time flew by as I wrote. Once I got started, words flowed through my hands onto the virtual paper. I had almost finished all of my essay by the time study hall was up.  _ Guess not procrastinating makes things a lot easier. _

By some perfectly times miracle, I had all of my stuff packed up by the moment the bell rang. As kids either frantically packed their supplies or suddenly teleported out of the room, I got the pleasure to leisurely stroll to Theology. Sadie jogged to catch up with me through the hallway after being stuck talking to Mrs. Markus after class. 

“Yo, why’d you leave me behind in English?”

“Sorry, but I gotta see the newest episode of the telenovela in Theology.”

“That's a viable excuse. Make sure to grab some popcorn and I want all the details at lunch or Jazz Band.”

“Will do captain!”

With a salute, Sadie turned left to head to her next class. After walking about 10 more feet, Ashlynn approached me. 

“Hey,” I asked, “Are you ready for the newest installment of the telenovela that is Mrs. Green vs Amada Clarke? Personally, I can’t wait to see what happens next.”

“Who do you think will blow first? Mrs. Green or Amada?”

“5 bucks on Mrs. Green.”

“Oh, you’re on!”

After stopping at our lockers, Ashlynn and I entered side-by-side into Theology. Everything appeared normal at first; Mrs. Green sat at her desk and the rest of the students occupied their time until class started. If we were lucky, there would be no fights and Theology could be peaceful for once. 

 

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We weren’t so lucky.

Most of Theology consisted of Amada making snarky comments while Mrs. Green tried to get us to learn something. Eventually, she snapped at Amada and gave her a lunch detention, which means Ashlynn needs to fork over her 5 dollars soon. 

After the detention was given out, Amada quieted down a little. She still made some comments, but they were whispered to her friends instead of announced to the entire class. That seemed to make Mrs. Green cockier that she quieted the loud mouth Amada Clarke, as she began to discuss more controversial topics. Personally, I zoned out and read my books since I sat closer to the back of the class. 

After not paying attention for 50 minutes, I was finally allowed to leave via the bell. Ashlynn came up to me, saying, “Guess I owe you 5 dollars?”

“Hell yeah, you do!”

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ashlynn did eventually give up her cash over lunch, much to the dismay of Bram. 

“I can’t believe you! Since when would Mrs. Green wait on the chance to push Amada’s buttons?”

Ashlynn shrugged. “I don’t know, it seemed like a good idea at the time.”

Cam laughed and cut in, “Well, rethink your judgment next time, unless you want to lose all your money to Cassandra.”

I swatted the papers in my hand at her, creating a satisfying smack.

Lunch continued as normal with the usual chaos: someone was completing a rushed homework assignment they forgot about before class, at least three conversations were simultaneously going on, and food was being passed around and shared. Ok, food was being thrown and shared.

With 5 minutes left of lunch, I pushed my chair in and left to put my lunch tray away. As I returned to the table, someone slammed into my shoulder and kept walking. Looking up at who just almost shoved me, it was no supride that Amada and her gang were the culprits. Before I could yell at them, I noticed a piece of paper laying on the floor.  _ Was that there before? _ Flipping it over, the paper read, “I have some questions about Chem. Text me. xxx-xxx-xxxx -Amada”

All of that for a phone number? While it seemed a little excessive to me, a lot of the theatrical stuff was how Amada operated. Picking up the paper, I finally returned to my lunch table. Bram gave me a weird look, no doubt going to question me later, but everyone else didn’t act like they noticed my prolonged absence.

Soon, the bell rang and I was off to Spanish, Sadie by my side. 

 

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The rest of the day crawled by with no exciting events happening. More bullshit from the semipermanent Spanish teacher, Mr. Bodene, more work in Trig, and the outline of a History project due somewhere in the indefinite future. Art was simple, paint a sunset, so it was a nice relaxing class to end the day on. 

Cam was at her locker as usual, and we left the school in an almost record-breaking time. We rode home, I dropped Cam off, she paid me for gas money, and soon I was left to my own devices. I decide to text Amada to see how she was struggling with the Chemistry homework.

I typed her name and number into my contacts before typing,  Hey! Its Cassandra. What questions did you have on the Chem worksheet?

After sending the message, I left my room to get a snack. After all, no work can be done when oneself isn’t properly nourished. Meandering into the kitchen, I grab the package of cookies and make my way back to my room to work on homework. 

When I got back, my phone was lit up with a text message. Low and behold, Amada had texted me back, responding,  Yea I had questions on 2,4,5, and 8.

Well,  I text back,  Number 2 is asking you how the periodic table is grouped, which is on page 113. It pretty much means that the periodic table is organized by the number of protons and properties of the elements. Number 4 is metals, nonmetals, and metalloids. 5 is the mass number minus the atomic number, and number 8 is using that formula, just plugging in the numbers given. Any more questions?

She replied,  I think thats it. Thanks!

Turning off my phone, I return to the other homework I need to get done by tomorrow. Even though Ashlynn and I were meeting over the weekend to work on Trigonometry, I still had more pages to get done so we could check answers together. Besides the onslaught of math problems, I also needed to finish my English essay and pick out a topic for my History project. You gotta love schoolwork.

The evening came and went, but the workload never seemed to lighten. Luckily, most of my homework was completed, and anything that wasn’t done also wasn’t due tomorrow. Exhausted, I turned off my computer and went to bed, for once before midnight.


End file.
